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Hellgate: London FAQ
1.0.0 Introduction 1.1.0 What is Hellgate: London? Hellgate: London is an Action/RPG being made by Flagship Studios. It features both third- and first-person playing perspectives and a blend of arcane and futuristic styles. Further detail will follow in the rest of my FAQ. It will also feature both single player and multiplayer modes. 1.2.0 Who is Flagship Studios? Flagship Studios is a company founded in October 2003 by former executives of Blizzard Entertainment and Blizzard North. Such names as Bill Roper (Producer and Voice Actor in many Blizzard/Blizzard North titles), Max and Erich Schaefer (Lead Designers of Diablo and Diablo 2), David Brevik (Lead Design, Diablo and Diablo 2) among others brought this company into being. 1.3.0 When will this game be released? The current release window is sometime during the summer of 2007. This may change as summer approaches, but Flagship CEO Bill Roper has said they are currently on schedule. 1.4.0 Where will this game be released? Worldwide. Flagship Studios will be working closely with its publishers to release the game worldwide, simultaneously. 1.5.0 What systems will this game be released for? Short answer: For PC. Long answer: For PC and perhaps possibly maychance nothing confirmed for consoles in the distant future. 2.0.0 Gameplay 2.1.0 Basics 2.1.1 How will dungeons be handled? Dungeons in Hellgate: London are instanced. Beyond that, they are randomized anew each time the player enters them. (However, a player can go to town after generating an instance without the instance being rerolled.) Each non-town level is randomly generated, from monsters to treasures to the different pathways to get to the end of the instance. 2.1.2 How will towns be handled? Towns or “stations” will be littered throughout London. Some stations can hold hundreds of players at a time. Smaller stations can only hold about 30-40. After that limit, a new town will be created on top of the other, and new players trying to enter the town will be forced into the less full one. When that town is filled, a third will be generated and so on and so forth. 2.1.3 Won’t that split up parties? No. The splitting system is designed with parties in mind so that parties will always be kept together when they go to the same town. (Note: The answers to 2.1.2 and 2.1.3 are based on dated information that may or may not be accurate anymore.) 2.1.4 Are there any persistent areas (areas that don’t change)? We do not currently know of any, other than towns. 2.1.5 Can I use melee attacks in first person? "First person view is only available while using ranged weaponry. The game defaults to third person when a melee weapon is equipped." Scaper-X 2.1.6 What is the aiming system like in first person? "Hunters feature a targeting reticle in first person view while the other two factions do not." -Scaper-X 2.2.0 Storyline 2.2.1 What is the story of Hellgate: London? London, 2038. According to legend, when the ravens depart the Tower of London, it will crumble to rubble and disaster will befall England. As man became more dependent on science, believing only in what he could define or create, ancient knowledge and rituals were lost to the antiquity of time. Prophecies that had stood as warning for untold generations were seen as archaic folly or ignorant superstition; so when the harbingers of evil began to manifest, few saw and fewer believed. When the demons finally came, there was little that stood in their way. Emerging from the swirling chaotic Hellgate, they overwhelmed humanity’s defenses quickly and systematically. Even the nuclear and biological weaponry employed by a few desperate nations did little more than slow the apocalypse. The nature of the demons’ attack presented little in the way of strategic military targets to the generals of mankind’s armies. With no obvious headquarters to bombard, visible supply lines to cut, or known leaders to assassinate, the usual tactics of war were useless. Only those that still practiced the holy, ancient, and arcane rights could stand against the dark invaders, using weapons and spells forged in the traditions of their forefathers. Their successes were scattered, and the leaders of the great military forces could neither understand nor accept their strange ways. This mystical resistance drew the immediate attention of the immensely powerful creatures, seemingly immune to the weapons of mankind. Soon, those that had preserved the knowledge of how to combat the demons shifted their focus from driving them back into the twisting nether to saving as many of their fellow humans as they could. They retreated to the relative sanctuary of the London Underground, a haven whose construction they had orchestrated decades before. Now, the once great city lies in ruins. A massive, sinister gash in the fabric of our reality swirls and churns, dominating the horizon as it blends into a permanently darkened sky. The Invasion, the unspeakable cataclysm that befell London, eventually engulfed humanity. The powerful nations of man were eradicated, and the decades-long process called The Burn – the transformation of our world into theirs – had begun. But mankind is a race of survivors. Men and women hide in the shadows of their former dominance, struggling to survive, yearning to strike back at their conquerors. These survivors banded together, and they are learning. Learning how to travel undetected. Learning how to forge weapons capable of piercing unfathomable defenses. Learning how to harness the forgotten and arcane powers of magic. Learning how to kill demons and close the Hellgate… 2.2.2 Will real London sites be featured in Hellgate: London? If so, which? Yes. Some of the main areas include Covent Garden Market, Bloomsbury, the British Museum, the Tubes (Covent Garden Service Line, Northern Line, Leicester Square Line), the Sewers, and Covent Garden Station. 2.2.3 Will Hellgate: London be divided into acts? The last we heard, yes. However, the acts will be somewhat invisible to the end-user, meaning there will be no conscious act changing, just a boss at the end of the act. Please note that this information is quite old and may not be accurate. 2.2.4 Do we ever get to go to hell? There are hellrift portals in instances. When entering a hellrift, a breath meter appears. The breath meter serves as a sort of timer, though it is unknown whether the breath meter reaching zero means death, or the beginning of a steady loss of health. There are also breathing apparatuses for these extra instances. (Note: These may not actually be breath-related. The term was used for comparison and may not be the actual term used in-game.) 2.3.0 Characters 2.3.1 What type of playable characters will be in Hellgate: London? Right now, playable characters are divided up into three factions, with two classes each. These will be explained later in the FAQ. Each faction has its own section. 2.3.2 What are factions? Think of factions as the “races” of Hellgate: London. Sure, everyone is human, but in Hellgate: London, there are three different divisions of humans able to fight. Each faction is divided into classes. 2.3.3 So, then, what are classes? Classes are just that, the standard RPG classes. Each faction currently has two classes, and will only have two at release. Classes are decided at the same time as determining faction. Character skills and stats will reflect the class chosen. Because of the current wording of responses to “will each faction only have two classes,” it is believed that a third class for each faction will be released as part of the “ongoing content”. Note that this is an unconfirmed rumor, but still possible. 2.3.4 What stats will be featured on characters? According to the latest screenshots from GDC ’07, Accuracy, Concentration, Stamina, and Willpower are the base attributes. Other stats include damage, health, power, speed, critical hit chance and critical hit bonus, faction standings, shields (not the item), armor, and defenses (think resists from Diablo 2). There are also individually listed stats for health regeneration rate, power regeneration rate, and shield regeneration rate. 2.3.5 So wait, what are the non-item shields then? Shields are extra barriers that take damage before your health does. They slowly regenerate over time, so long as you have them. If you need a way to picture them, think either the Protoss units from StarCraft or the Energy Shield from Halo 2. Shields are based on one’s equipped items. Chest and back items can add more durability to one’s shields or raise the regeneration rate. 2.3.6 What is the level cap going to be? To quote the November IRC Interview with Pat and Ivan: "We don’t really have a cap right now. We’ve talked about it some, but we there are many ideas on that." 2.3.7 Is there a priest class or faction? What about a support-style class? No. Flagship Studios has expressed its intention to make all factions and classes offense-oriented. There are no buffslaves or healbot players in Hellgate: London. There will be supplementary healing abilities, such as perhaps a healing aura for one of the Templar classes, and maybe a medic drone for one of the Hunter classes, however, it will be unlikely that a player can build his or her character for the sole purpose of healing. 2.3.8 How many characters will there be per account? 3 for Non-Subscribing Multiplayer Characters. 12 for Subscribers. No news of Single Player, which is most likely “as many as your computer can store” 2.3.9 What kind of physical features are customizable on new characters? "There are six variables you can tweak when creating your character: face, hair style, skin color, hair color, height, and girth. There were about six options for the face and hair style (a guesstimate) and ten options for the colors (also a guesstimate). These numbers will probably change come beta. The character creation screen shows off your character-to-be wearing sample garb they might find in their travels based on their faction." -Scaper-X 2.3.10 What kinds of colors are available for skin color? "Just preset hues, most of them natural. The stranger ones were the pale snow-like tones, presumably for the cabbies." -Scaper-X 2.3.11 What about facial hair? Yes, you can get your Chuck Norris on. 2.3.12 Can my character undertake a profession (like blacksmithing)? According to the last we were told, no. This information may have changed, as it has been several months. Don’t hold your breath, though. 2.4.0 Templar Questions 2.4.1 What are Templars? The Templar faction was the first announced faction in the game. They are the holy warriors. They do not necessarily serve the Christian god as their mythology has been somewhat rewritten by Flagship in order to serve the purpose of the game. The Templars have been awaiting the demon’s invasion for centuries. 2.4.2 What are the Templar classes? Blademaster: This class is all about dealing as much damage as one can as fast as one can. It is the only class known to be able to dual-wield swords. The Blademaster also gets a nifty skill called Throw Sword Mastery for hitting those pesky out-of-reach demons. Guardian: This class is the stereotypical tank, built around the use of offhand shields. The Guardian makes for great crowd control, especially since it comes coupled with a handful of AoE skills made to keep the demon mobs on their knees. 2.4.3 Can Templars use guns? Templars can use pistols, but two-handed guns are off-limits to the Templar. One such pistol is the Grappler, which fires a Palladium tether to pull the enemy up close, only to watch it be chopped in half by the Templar’s sword. 2.5.0 Cabalist Questions 2.5.1 What are Cabalists? The Cabalist faction was the second faction announced. They walk the line between humanity and…uh, demonity? Demonicness? Well, these are the spellcasters of the game. They use the demon’s own power against them, walking the line of corruption. 2.5.2 What are the Cabalist classes? The Cabalist classes were announced in the May 2007 issue of PC Gamer: "Evoker: Ranged damage class that carries mystical Focus items (instead of guns) that grant special skill and attack bonuses. If he/she has two Focus devices, an Evoker can double the damage and attack bonuses of his/her skills. Summoner: Can summon two categories of pet: major and minor. Major pets are tanks, healers, and high damage dealers. Minor pets, such as Elementals, exist for blasting, short-lived tanking, and doing damage over time. Summoners also focus their base Cabalist skills on regenerating health, which they can then feed to their various pets to keep them in the fight." 2.5.3 Can Cabalists use guns? Cabalists get their own special guns, such as the Electric Eel Gun. One gun mentioned in an official FSS podcast mentioned a gun that shoots africanized killer bees. There’s even a Plague Of Locusts Gun. Expect the creativity of the designers and developers to shine through on Cabalist-only weapons. (Note that the names of these weapons are temporary.) 2.5.4 What are “focus items”? Focus items are Cabalist weapons. They are made to focus the Cabalist’s arcane powers into an energy they can use. 2.5.5 Can Cabalists use melee weapons? There are no melee weapons available for the Cabalist faction as far as we know. 2.6.0 Hunter Questions 2.6.1 What are Hunters? The Hunter faction was the final faction announced. These are your bad-ass “speak softly and carry a big fucking gun” kind of guys. Black Ops, Wetworks, the Agency…these guys are the dark side of government, trained with technology way beyond what the common man could dream of. Trained to be almost modern-day ninjas, they don’t trust magic, or the “holy” approach to demons, valuing their own skill over such superstition. (Let’s just hope they don’t like to yell out “BOOM, HEADSHOT!”) 2.6.2 What are the Hunter classes? The Hunter classes were announced in the May 2007 issue of PC Gamer: "Marksman: Ranged damage. Focuses on weapons and damage delivery rather than skills and effects. A Marksman changes the type of damage he’s dealing by changing guns, not by changing skills like an Evoker. Engineer: Gadget guy. Engineers excel at tricking out their high-tech pets, which they can equip with items and control on the battlefield. Can make other devices that follow you around and do small amounts of damage to enemies or buff party members. Unlike the Summoner, who is always summoning different creations, the Engineer gets only one pet out there and then focuses on improving it with skills and equipment." Information from previous Community Manager Ivan Sulic has confirmed a post-launch class for the Hunter, the Recon class. Details of how this class will play are still sketchy, but it is likely to focus on the Hunter’s stealthier side. 2.6.3 Can Hunters use melee weapons? 2.7.0 Skills 2.7.1 Do we know anything about what skills and how many will be in the game yet? 2.7.2 How will skills be learned in the game? 2.7.3 Will a character be able to learn skills from a different class or faction? 2.8.0 Items and Equipment 2.8.1 What can you tell us about items? 2.8.2 Okay, what about armor, though? 2.8.3 What is the currency of Hellgate: London? 2.8.4 How will Palladium be used in Hellgate: London? 2.8.5 Where (or how) are items found in the game? 2.8.6 How are item drops handled in multiplayer? 2.8.7 Will there be potions like in Diablo 2? 2.8.8 What kind of item storage system is planned? 2.8.9 How will trading be handled? 2.8.10 Will there be a crafting system? 2.8.11 What about armor styles (matching armor)? 2.8.12 Are there two-handed swords or two-handed melee weapons at all? 2.8.13 Why are there two numbers for every attribute in the screenshots of the character sheet stat page? 2.8.14 What will the economy be like in Hellgate: London? 2.8.15 Are there town portals like in Diablo 2? 2.8.16 Are there any class-specific items? 2.8.17 Is it possible for characters to equip items reserved for other factions? 2.8.18 Are there any melee weapons other than swords? 2.8.19 Are there items only available to subscribers? (ADDED: 05/09/2007) 2.9.0 Enemies 2.9.1 What kinds of monsters are in the game? 2.9.2 What else is known about the demons? 2.9.3 What kind of AI can be expected in this game? 2.9.4 What about unique monsters? 2.9.5 Will I be able to kill bosses more than once and farm them for items? "Scaper-X: I didn’t have a quest and killed a quest mob, then I got the quest and killed it again. It didn’t drop anything without the quest, though. So, the way it is right now, one will be able to kill bosses more than once, but will not be able to kill them over and over for items." 2.10.0 Single Player Questions 2.10.1 Will Hellgate: London be able to be played in single player mode? Yes. 2.10.2 How long is the single player campaign? The developers have estimated it to be 30-40 hours 2.10.3 Will single player get content updates? According to a recent post by Community Manager Brennan Ieyoub, yes! 2.11.0 Multiplayer Questions 2.11.1 Will Hellgate: London be able to be played online? Yes. 2.11.2 For free? Yes. 2.11.3 Then what’s all this P2P junk? To fund their continued support (via both servers, and content) Flagship Studios will be featuring some sort of paid-for service to acquire additional content. However, there will still be free multiplayer form. It’s just…paying to play gets you more. UPDATE (05/09/2007): Games for Windows magazine has finally released information about the P2P scheme for Hellgate: London. The game will still be playable for free, as mentioned above. However, for those who subscribe: * Elite subscribers pay $9.95 a month * 24/7 phone- and internet-support * No (server) queues for elite subscribers, with preference over non-paying customers * 3 chars per account for non-elites, 12 for elite-customers * Elite subscribers can store up to 40 items (instead of 20 for non-subscribers), which can be accessed from any char in an account-wide item vault. * Visible distinction from other players. Elite subscribers are recognisable from their equipment and may trade subscriber-only equipment to other elite subscribers. * VIP-Shuttles to remote areas * Housing and founding of guilds are enabled for subscribers. Elite subscribers may attain officer/leader priviledges within their guild. * Elite subscribers have access to additional game modes, including Hardcore mode. * Elite subscribers and non-subscribers can play with each other. * Costs actually depend on where you live. Subscription fees in the Asian market will cost considerably less, in accordance to the market conditions and expectations of the players and local publishers within the region. 2.11.4 So they’re offering a gimped mode for those that don’t pay them? No. The full, completed single-player version will be able to be played online, for free. Everything in the box at the store will be available to the free players. The P2P mode is to buy ADDITIONAL content produced further down the road. Because they can’t do this without constant revenue, they are looking for ways to fund this. And the money is going to come from the player. UPDATE! 05/09/2007 - Free Play- - Does have customer support but it isn’t 24/7 premium customer support. Being ‘just an artist’ I don’t know all the specifics here. - Can join guilds but can’t found a guild or use guild officer functions. - Can play with elite players in all areas of the game that come with the shipped game but not in new areas added post launch. - Can not use ‘elite’ items. It should be noted that elite items are not more powerful/unbalanced items but rather have flashier appearances or simply new items that still fit in the overall balance scheme. - Includes patching/balance updates. (in case that’s not obvious) - On the same secure servers as ‘elite’ players. 2.11.5 So how will they take our money, via monthly fee? This question is no longer relevant…since it’s answered above.) Yes, via monthly fee. The fee will however, depend somewhat on the region in which it is being collected. The fee in Asia has not been announced. 2.11.6 Will subscribers and non-subscribers be able to play together? UPDATE: 05/09/2007 (This question is also answered above.) Yes. 2.11.7 Is Hellgate: London an MMO? This is a subject of debate. It will feature massive amounts of players interacting on the same servers, but because of the layered towns and instanced dungeons, some may consider it, like Guild Wars, not an MMO. To all intents and purposes, however, CEO of Flagship Studios, Bill Roper calls Hellgate: London an MMO. UPDATE 05/09/2007: For some reason, the June GFW article in which the monthly fees were announced states Bill Roper as saying Hellgate: London is not an MMO. This contradicts everything he’s said up to this point, so I believe this is a misquote. 2.11.8 Can I use my single player mode characters online? UPDATED: 4-10-07: No. 2.11.9 Can I join an instance a friend of mine is already in? At the moment, you can only join someone’s instance if you are in his or her party. You can join his or her party at any time, as well as the instance. (Once again, this is based on dated information and may have changed.) 2.11.10 Is LAN play available on Hellgate: London? No. LAN play is not implemented because of piracy concerns. However, for those who still want LAN play, there is a slim, SLIM chance of hope that it may make its appearance. It does have its supporters within FSS. But due to the piracy concerns, LAN play is not currently featured in Hellgate: London. Sources: Flagship Forums Hellgate Guru 2.11.11 Will Hellgate: London feature raids? Yes. 2.11.12 What are the raids like? This information is not currently known. This section will be updated when more information is known. 2.11.13 What is the difference between single player and multiplayer? To quote a recent interview with Bill Roper conducted by Jörg Langer: "It really is much more, it really is an MMO experience. It’s client-server-based, it 24/7 customer service, you’re buying and selling items, you go to auction houses, you’re forming guilds. All those things you would expect from an MMO environment." 2.11.14 Will there be PvP battles? There will be some form of PvP in the game, though it is unknown how it will be handled. PvP is not a focus of Hellgate: London. I will update as new information about the PvP methods arise. UPDATE: 05/09/2007 According to Flagship employee Lee Dotson, PvP is a Subscriber-Only game mode, along with both Hardcore and an RP mode. 2.11.15 Will I be able to play Hellgate: London with my friends overseas? Flagship is doing all they can to make it possible for everyone around the world to be able to play with one another 2.11.16 How will parties be created and joined? (ADDED: 4/10/07) According to an Interview with Bill Roper in MMO Magazine, Hellgate London utilizes a unique Terminal Matchmaking system. The terminal can display players by "game mode, party name, party description, maximum number of players (up to the group size limit), and even level ranges so you don’t have someone to under- or over-powered trying to join your group." The Terminal can look through potential groups, and find groups whose requirements the player meets, and show the player how many players, what classes, and what levels the other players in the group are. If a player knows the name of another player, he can invite that player to join him at any time. This also applies to any character currently onscreen for the current player. Players in Guilds see parties formed by their guilds at the top of the Terminal list. (Roper goes on to mention that there MAY be incentives for encouraging Guild play, such as special bonuses for Guild-only parties venturing together. He gives no further detail or explanation.) 2.12.0 Guilds 2.12.1 Will Hellgate: London have clans or guilds? Yes. They will be called guilds. 2.12.2 How will guilds be organized? UPDATE: 05/09/2007 Guilds will be created and run by subscribers only. Only subscribers can hold the Officer positions. However, all players can join guilds. Non-subscribers are just stuck in peon roles. 2.12.3 Will there be guild-based storage? According to Brennan Ieyoub, current FSS Community Manager, there will not be Guild Storage at launch 2.12.4 Will guilds be account- or character-based? This is also unknown. More details will come as release approaches, and I will update when details arrive. 2.12.5 Will there be guild halls? UPDATE: 05/09/2007 For subscribers, Guild Housing will be available. Only the subscribers have access to this content 2.13.0 Hardcore Mode 2.13.1 Will there be a hardcore mode in Hellgate: London like there was in Diablo 2? Yes. (For those unfamiliar with the definition of hardcore mode: It means there are no extra lives. Once you die, your character can no longer be played.) UPDATE: 05/09/2007 According to both GFW and Lee Dotson, Hardcore mode will be subscriber-only content. 2.13.2 Will hardcore characters be able to interact with softcore characters? While it is unknown whether or not they will be able to interact, it is known that hardcore characters can enter the same towns as softcore characters. This is from IGN’s Bill Roper Sneak Peek #8: "An example of a gameplay mode would be Hardcore, where a character gets a single life. This means that if you fall to the hordes of Demons, you stay down forever. Of course, Hardcore players get loads of recognition within the world for taking this risk… different armor and item looks, color themes, effects, titles, auras and so on. When a level 40 Hardcore player enters a station, other players will take notice" 2.13.3 Will there be any other benefits to being a hardcore character? This is not known yet. 2.14.0 Music and Sound 2.14.1 What about music? The music of Hellgate: London is done by Sonic Mayhem of Quake fame. Expect very high-quality music. 2.14.2 And sounds? Well, I would expect nothing short of the best. Hellgate: London won a Golden Reel for Best Sounds in a Video Game Cinematic for the Opening Cinematic. (News of this can be found here.) 2.14.3 Will the demons talk? You bet. From the previous QuickFacts: "Feb 21, 2006 Demons have their own languages. Some of the chittering little freaks are a bit unnerving. I’m not sure if our more humanoid offshoots of higher level castes will eventually speak English, or at least opt to in certain situations. I honestly don’t know that yet. But the mightier demons far up in the hellish hierarchy are certainly capable of it." 2.14.4 Will NPCs talk? Yes. In fact, Bill Roper will be doing some of the voice acting! 2.15.0 System Specifications 2.15.1 What are the required system specifications for Hellgate: London? These are not currently finalized. However, it is known that HGL is planned to support lower-end machines, such as machines found in cyber cafes. How far low-end this goes is not currently known. It is unlikely, however, that lower-end machines will be able to run the game in windowed mode on a 3200×2400 resolution while spamming Flaming Spirals O’ Doom in an area with 50 zombies on screen at a decent frame rate, so beware. UPDATE 05/09/2007: Still no updates here, but because of several people questioning about it, I thought I would add Mythos’ system requirements so you can gauge how powerful a system you will need. At least 512 MB RAM, about a 2 GHz processor (but not a Piece of Shit Celeron), and a 64MB or more graphics card with PixelShader 2.0 (and 3.0?) capabilities. (FX5200 or Radeon 9250+ would most likely work) Of course, a system of those specs will most likely only run Hellgate: London at the lowest settings 2.15.2 Is Windows Vista required for Hellgate: London? No, however Hellgate: London will be Vista-compatible. 2.15.3 What about DirectX10 compatibility? Yes, Hellgate: London will have extra graphical features…Such as smoke (special DirectX10 smoke, that is), shadows (special DirectX10 shadows, that is), and rain (and yes, this too is special DirectX10 rain). Source (Scroll down to the image of a man in a hat, Tyler Thompson, in front of a green background. He speaks of DirectX10 effects in this video.) 2.15.4 Does Hellgate: London support dual monitors? No. Hellgate: London does not feature Dual Monitor support. (Source: Ivan Sulic, FSS Developer/Community Manager) 2.16.0 Miscellaneous 2.16.1 Is Hellgate: London an FPS? No. Hellgate: London is an Action RPG. Yes, it features a first-person mode and guns, but the gameplay focuses on Action RPG aspects. It does have FPS elements, but you should not buy this game expecting an FPS experience. 2.16.2 Will Hellgate: London be moddable at release? Flagship Studios does not currently plan to support modding for Hellgate: London. 2.16.3 Will there be beta testing for Hellgate: London? Yes. More details (and an entire FAQ section related to beta) will be added as beta approaches. 2.16.4 Will there be vehicles in-game? From what we’ve been told, only in cinematics. 2.16.5 What about mounts? Nope. If you need to get from place to place in a hurry, there are methods for that. 2.16.6 So there’s a waypoint system? There are ways to travel between stations instantly. There are no waypoints in instances, however. 2.16.7 Are there headshots or any kinds of area-based damage? No, but there are critical hits, based on two specific stats on a player’s character page. 2.16.8 Will there be player housing? (ADDED: 05/09/2007) Yes. This, however, is content for Subscribers only.